Capturing the Scene at 200 M.P.H.

For two weeks in late spring, motorbikes zoom at death-defying speeds (sometimes topping 200 m.p.h.) up, down and around a 37.7 mile course on the narrow public roads of the Isle of Man for the TT (or “Tourist Trophy”) race, which is easily among the most dangerous in the world.

It’s an unforgiving race, in which the slightest mistake in movement can send a rider full-speed into stone walls, mountainside homes or the scores of spectators who line the road. Three fatalities during this year’s race brought the death toll to 146 since the first TT in 1907. Such danger draws competitors who come to experience rare thrills.

Two months before the TT, I went to the Isle of Man with a film crew from Spindle Productions, a British video production company, to get to know the circuit with those who were preparing to race there for the first time.

In “Road Rivals”, one of the two short films The New York Times released for this year’s race, I followed newcomers Paul Jordan and Adam McLean, who live just six miles from each other in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland — a country whose enthusiasm for motorcycle racing rivals that of the Isle of Man.

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Adam McLean studies the TT course by watching footage from a camera attached to the front of a motorcycle.CreditAdam Javes for The New York Times.

Before Paul and Adam experienced the Isle of Man TT, they familiarized themselves with the race by continuously going over the circuit in a car, often with a former TT champion-turned-mentor, Richard “Milky” Quayle, whose story is told in “A Dangerous Passion for Racing.”

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Former TT winner Richard “Milky” Quayle explains the intricacies of a corner to newcomer Adam McLean.CreditNeil Collier/The New York Times

Though he is retired from racing, Milky has a hectic schedule, works three jobs and is a full-time father. However, he finds time to take early morning motorcycle spins around the TT course.

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The director, Greg Hackett, and the assistant cameraman, Ben Parish, mount a camera to Milky’s motorcycle.CreditNeil Collier/The New York Times

The Racing Season

We took our first shots of Paul and Adam in actual competition at the start of the Northern Irish road-racing season, just five weeks before the TT began. Their first event was the Tandragee 100, whose bumps and jumps have earned it the nickname “the mini TT.”

The Tandragee, which isn’t televised, presented a logistical challenge because we wanted to film it from as many angles as possible over the course of a day. Once the roads have been closed to the public, however, it is no longer possible to move around the course in a car. Also, except between races, spectators (and camera crews) are not permitted to cross the track on foot.

Before the race began, we selected a few key locations from which we hoped to film. We attached cameras to Paul and Adam’s bikes so we could better capture the high-speed intensity involved.

There was a nerve-racking moment when neither of them made it to the finish line of their first race. When we couldn’t see them, we feared the worst. We were relieved when they eventually arrived at the paddock in the back of a van that had picked them up on the side of the road.

In the onboard camera footage of that first race, you can see Paul flying off his motorcycle and landing in the grass when rider No. 8, Guy Martin, loses control of his bike and slams into him.

The footage also shows a course marshal flagging Adam down when his engine starts churning out black smoke.

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The Isle of Man TT, a deadly road race around an island in the Irish Sea that has claimed the life of three racers this year, draws motorcycle riders seeking a buzz they can’t get anywhere else.Published OnJune 15, 2017

Sadly, the onboard cameras did not survive past this point: Paul suspected they were bad luck and asked for them to be removed; Adam’s motorbike, still fitted with a camera now caked with dead flies, had to be taken away for repair. Course marshals canceled the rest of the event later that afternoon after a serious crash and heavy rain.

We were, however, on site to film both our racers again at the North West 200 in Northern Ireland, the final race before the TT and a much larger, televised event featuring some of the biggest names in the sport. See how they fared. Have a look at the video.